Vyta Du Roc (foaled 21 June 2009) was a grey

AQPS AQPS ("Autre Que Pur-Sang"), translated as "Other than Thoroughbred" (not "Other than Pure-Blood"), is a general term used in France to refer to horses not listed as Thoroughbreds but destined to race. Anglo-Arabians, Selle Français (or French R ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. He was bred in France and trained in Great Britain and Ireland. His most noted success came when winning the 2016

Reynoldstown Novices' Chase The Reynoldstown Novices' Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of about 3 miles (2 mile ...

Racing career

Vyta Du Roc was bred in France by André Le Gall. He ran twice over hurdles in France in 2013, being placed 3rd in the second race, before joining the yard of trainer Nicky Henderson at Lambourn in England. He was bought by financiers Simon Munir and Isaac Souede (chairman of Permal Group). He won his first four starts in Great Britain, including two Grade 2 novice hurdle races (the

Sharp Novices' Hurdle The Sharp Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about ...

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

and the

Winter Novices' Hurdle The Winter Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Pa ...

Sandown Park Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racing ...

) before, on 29 December 2014, coming a close second in the Grade 1

Challow Novices' Hurdle The Challow Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs (2 m ...

at Newbury. In these races he was ridden by David Bass, Tony McCoy and Barry Geraghty. In March 2015, Vyta Du Roc made the first of three appearances at the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...

, coming fourth in the

Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle The Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle (known as the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle for sponsorship reasons) is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years o ...

. At Aintree in April 2015, ridden by Daryl Jacob for the first time, he came second to

Thistlecrack Thistlecrack (foaled 29 March 2008) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt races. Unraced until he was five years old, he recorded his first win in a National Hunt Flat race in 2014. In the 2014/15 National Hunt season ...

in the Grade 1 Sefton Novices' Hurdle and achieved a career-high rating of 150. The 2015/2016 season saw Vyta Du Roc entered in three novice chases. He won as odds-on favourite at Bangor, came second as favourite at

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, and then won the

at Ascot. At the 2016 Cheltenham Festival he came fifth of 8 runners in the RSA Chase and then came fifth in a field of 28 in the

Scottish Grand National The Scottish Grand National is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ayr, Scotland, over a distance of about 4 miles (3 ...

. The following season (2016/2017) saw no wins for Vyta Du Roc, although he came a close second in the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown Park. He had just three starts in the 2017/2018 season, including a win at Cheltenham in January 2018. This was to be his last victory on the racecourse. In the 2018/2019 season he had four starts, pulling up in three of them and coming seventh of 15 runners in the

Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase The Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase is a National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Cross-Country Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles ...

, won by

Tiger Roll Tiger Roll (foaled 14 March 2010) is a retired Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing and won the Grand National in 2018 and 2019. He has also won five times at the Cheltenham Festival: the Triumph Hurdle in 2014, ...

, at the Cheltenham Festival in March 2019. In October 2019, Vyta Du Roc ran in two point-to-points in Ireland, coming fourth and second, and his trainer was changed to

Gordon Elliott Gordon Elliott may refer to: * Gordon Elliott (journalist) Gordon Elliott (born 30 September 1956) is a British Australian journalist and producer, radio and television personality, based now in the United States. He was the executive produc ...

. He entered another point-to-point in November 2019, coming third. His final race was a 3-mile cross country chase at

Punchestown Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish National ...

over the banks course on 17 November 2019. He trailed home last of the fifteen finishers, 150 lengths behind the winner. After the race, a veterinary examination carried out at the request of the stewards found him to have blood in his nostrils, possibly as a result of exercise induced pulmonary haemorrhage. Further examination revealed clinical abnormalities. Vyta Du Roc won seven of his 27 races over fences and hurdles, and was placed on six occasions. He never fell or unseated his rider. He was ridden in 13 of his 27 starts by Daryl Jacob, retained rider for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede. Vyta Du Roc had, over his career, amassed £176,514 in prize money for his connections. Three months after his final race, Vyta Du Roc had been sent to an abattoir in England and was featured in the

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Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

programme, ''The Dark Side of Horse Racing'', broadcast on 19 July 2021. Trainer Gordon Elliott denied having sent him to the abattoir, saying that he had been given to someone else at the owners' request.

References

{{reflist 2009 racehorse births Non-Thoroughbred racehorses Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in Ireland Racehorses bred in France